Liquid jet Gas Compressors for Aeration of Wastewater

Wastewater aeration is the process of adding air or oxygen into wastewater to allow aerobic bio-degradation of the pollutant components. In municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, aeration is part of the Activated Sludge process.

Aeration provides oxygen to bacteria for treating and stabilizing the wastewater. Oxygen is needed by the bacteria to allow biodegradation to occur. The supplied oxygen is utilised by bacteria in the wastewater to break down the organic matter containing carbon to form carbon dioxide and water. It also promotes the microbial growth in the wastewater. The microbes feed on the organic material, forming flocks which can easily settle out.

For maximum effectiveness it is essential that necessary amount of oxygen is fed into the activated sludge and it is made to dissolve fast into the wastewater. To ensure fast dissolution the air or oxygen gas is distributed in form of small bubbles in the wastewater.

Achieving micro bubbling is complicated and it involves first pumping air or oxygen into the waste water and then ensuring that the air or oxygen splits itself into small bubbles and disperses evenly through the liquid.

Liquid jet Gas Compressors are simple devices that operate on the basis of the jet Venturi principle. When used for wastewater aeration, the Liquid jet Gas Compressor uses recirculated wastewater from the activated sludge tank for operation. The Liquid jet gas Compressor sucks the air or oxygen gas through its suction inlet, mixes it with the circulating wastewater and discharges their mixture through its outlet.

The internal mixing process happens rapidly and experiences large shearing force between the oxygen and wastewater. These shearing forces have the capability of breaking the air volume into fine bubbles.
By carefully designing the Liquid jet gas Compressor’s internal geometry and by regulating the operating pressures it is possible to have an outlet flow comprising of fine oxygen bubbles dispersed in the wastewater.
It is possible to achieve a min bubble size of 50 µm or 0.05mm through a Liquid jet gas Compressor.

Liquid jet Gas Compressors are best suited for wastewater aeration because of their inherent characteristics.

• Ability to produce a uniform flow of micro gas bubbles dispersed evenly through the liquid.
• Suitable for both batch type and continuous operation.
• Can be manufactured in a large range of materials (Plastics, Stainless Steels, Exotic Materials)– it helps to select the best possible material compatible with the involved chemicals and reduces the risk of corrosion
• Liquid jet Gas Compressors do not contain any moving parts and have large internal passage areas, hence are not vulnerable to liquid entry or clogging by solid particles.
• As they have no moving parts, maintenance requirements are very less. Also it reduces largely the risk of abrupt breakdowns, helps in maintaining the regular production schedule.